Swing bridge to Tonawanda Island, photo (George Hunter, c1965).jpg
1965
Southern swing bridge, photo (c.1973).jpg
1973
North swing bridge in operation (c1970).jpg
1970
Portion of Harbor in Twin Cities, Goose Island, postcard (1910-06-15).jpg
The first postcard apparently penned by someone just arriving in Tonawanda in 1910 to study as a veterinarian under the tutelage of a Dr. H. S. Wende. He gives a charming description of his situation to a newphew, in a very legible hand. <br /><br />More about Dr. Wende from 1891's <a href="http://www.nthistory.com/items/show/608"><em>Lumber City</em></a>: <br /><br />Drs. Wende & Thomson, V. S. — Dr. H. S. Wende was born in Erie county, graduated from the Ontario Veterinary College in 1886 and lo-. cated in Tonawanda where he secured a good run of practice, having an operating table and every convenience for the treatment of accidents or the diseases of horses. This is the largest veterinary hospital in this vicinity. Dr. J. P. Thomson, a Canadian and graduate of the above school, has been associated with Dr. Wende for a j-ear or two past, and is giving good satisfaction.
1910-06-15
Erie Canal lock into the Niagara River, Tonawanda.jpg
The lock in this first (c. 1890) photo allowed canal boats to pass from the canal in Tonawanda over into the Niagara River. The non-canal part of the Tonawanda Creek is straight ahead, leading into the Niagara River. Notice the tugboats waiting on the far side of the lock. They could tow canal boats through the river to be loaded up with lumber on Tonawanda Island, or at another dock along the river, and return them to lock back into the canal. In other photos, a weather tower can be seen at right, hung with flags that alerted boaters to the weather conditions outside the safe confines of the canal walls. Today, if you walk alongside Urban Paint on Niagara Street in Tonawanda, in its parking lot you can see a little sign commemorating the lock.
1890
The Lumber District, postcard (1919).jpg
A view from the southern portion of a lumber-bedecked Tonawanda Island across the "Little (Niagara) River" onto a lumber-bedecked North Tonawanda.
1919